By Chris Byrd | Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) — “The Tourist,” a mystery series airing now on HBO Max in six one-hour episodes, gets off to a promising start. But ludicrous plot twists, unnecessarily graphic violence and gratuitous tawdry language ultimately derail the show.
Chris Sweeney and Daniel Nettheim directed the program, which British brothers Harry and Jack Williams developed and wrote. In an example of how globalization has affected the TV universe, HBO co-produced “The Tourist” with BBC One and the Australian streaming service Stan, both of which aired the series in January.
Having garnered acclaim for his portrayal of Pa in “Belfast” — one of this year’s Academy Award nominees for Best Picture — Jamie Dornan takes the starring role. He plays an unnamed Irishman who, after a car accident, wakes up in a hospital in the Australian outback suffering from amnesia.
Helen Chambers (Danielle Macdonald), a probationary constable for the local police department, arrives to investigate the mishap. But the case turns out to be far more complex than expected, leaving the neophyte overwhelmed.
Memory loss is a hoary plot device. Yet here it feels fresh, at least to begin with, thanks to the fact that, as Dornan’s character pieces his life back together, he not only discovers that people are out to kill him, but that they have good reason for wanting to do so. As he says to Chambers at one point: “I’m a bad guy, Helen; that’s why people want me dead.”
Viewers will be intrigued as the protagonist’s search for his identity leads him to connect with Luci (Shalom Brune-Franklin), a waitress who knows more about his past than she at first admits. It also gets him mixed up with a sociopathic Greek immigrant named Kostas (Alex Dimitriades) and finds him trying to rescue Marko (Damien Strouthos), a man trapped inside an oil drum.
Yet, as the story line becomes more involved, the tone of the narrative shifts considerably. The restrained depiction of violence at the outset gives way to lurid mayhem and implausibly protracted life-and-death struggles. Additionally, coarse dialogue becomes more the norm than the exception.
As a result, the appropriate audience for “The Tourist” rapidly shrinks. Even those adults comfortable with its challenging content, moreover, will find their interest in the show dwindling as over-the-top plot developments obscure its initially strong appeal.
Byrd is a guest reviewer for Catholic News Service.